Combination steel car.



No. 728,016. PATENTED MAY 12, 1903..

W. ROHRBAGHER.

COMBINATION STEEL OAR. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1903.

NOMODEL. v I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N 28, 1 I PATENTBD MAY 12, 1963. 7

W. ROHRBAGHER.

GOMBiN ATION STEEL OAR. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10, 1903;

fio MODEL. ZSHEETS-SHEET z,

. side of the track without said beds or hoppers UNITED STATES Patented May 12, 1903.

ATENT OFFICE.

COMBINATION STEEL CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 728,016, dated May 12, 1903.

Application filed March 10, 1903.

To all whont it may concern.-

Be it known that LWILLIAM RoHaBAcHER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Duquesne, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Combination Steel Cars, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in steel cars, and relates particularly to that class of cars adapted to be tilted to discharge their contents either upon the road-bed of the track upon which the car is placed or to one side of the track; and the present invention has for its object to construct a car of this type with the bed or beds thereof so arranged as to be swung around on their supporting-axis in order to dump the contents of the bed or beds at either side of the1 track or onto the road-bed betweenthe rai s.

A further object of the present invention is to construct a car of this type in which the bed or beds or hoppers may be swung around on their axis for dumping their loads at the interfering with a car coupled to the one being dumped.

Still further objects of the invention area supporting-frame and a rotatable frame for the beds or hoppers of structural steel, simplifying and cheapening the construction of cars of this type and at the same time mate rially strengthening the same.

The invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement, as will be hereinafter more specifically described and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and in describing the invention in detail reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, and wherein like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the different views of the drawings, in

which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved car, showing in dotted lines the position of one of the hoppers when tilted. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the car-frame with the hoppers and their rotatable supporting-frames removed. Fig. 3 is a detached detail perserai m a. (No model.)

spective view of one of the hoppers or beds and its supporting-frame. Fig. 4 is an underneath plan view of the same.

I Supported upon the trucks 1 of the car is a car bed or frame which is built up entirely of channel-beams and embodies the side rails 2, end rails 3, and intermediate cross rails or braces 4. The space between the intermediate cross-rails 4 is left open, so as to permit the freedumpingof the contents of the hoppers between'the railsof the track. The end rails 3'and cross rails or braces 4 are riveted or bolted to the side rails, the ends being bent'at right angles to receive the rivets or bolts. A pair of cross-braces 5 are similarly secured to the side rails near each end of the car, and longitudinal braces 6 6 are fastened to these braces 5 and to the crossrails 4 and end rails 3, respectively. A bolster-block 7 is secured between the braces 5 and is provided with an opening to receive theking-bolt. (Notshowu) Diagonalbraces '8 intersect with the corners between braces 5 and 6 and braces 3 and 4 and the side rails :2, and each of these diagonal braces 8 carries a-roller ,9 to be engaged by the circular track -10,carried bythe supporting-frame of the hopper or car-bed. The supporting-frame of the hopper and the hopper are rotated by means of a stub-shaft l1, journaled in the side rail of the truck-frame and in a brace 12, connected to the braces 5, said shaft beand a stub shaft isprovided for each hopper or car-bed employed.

A hopper is mounted over each truck of the car, and the hoppers at each end of the car are adapted to dump through the space between the hoppers onto the road-bed or to the sides of the road-bed, as desired. As these hoppers are alike at each end of the car, the same reference-numerals will-be applied to each. Each hopper is constructed with vertical sides l6, having straight inner edges and curved outer edges, the bottom of the hopper being extended up to form the outer end and curved to conform to the curved outer edge of the sides. The hopper is closed at the inner end by a door 17, hung upon a rod 18, mounted in angle-bar corner-posts 19. This rod is mounted in lugs 20 21, carried by the door 17 and the angle-bar posts 19, respectively. The door in the upper portion thereof is wider than the width of the hopper and is cut away at its side edges on its lower half and has mounted in keepers 22, secured to its outer face, a rock-shaft 24, which at its ends carries catches 25, which operate in the cut-away edges of the door and engage with pins 26, carried by the sides of the hopper. Locking-pawls 27 are pivoted to the sides of the car to be moved into engagement with these catches when the latter are engaged with the pins to hold the same engaged therewith. The hopper is mounted on trunnions 28, which engage in suitable bearings (not shown) provided therefor in standards 2!), that may be constructed of channel-bar steel of suitable size. These standards are men nted on a frame-embodying channelbar side bars 30, channel-bar end rails 31, channelbar cross-rails 32, channel-bar braces 33, and channel-bar diagonal braces 34. A bolsterblock 35, provided with an aperture registering with the aperture in the bolster-block 7, is secured between the cross-braces 32 and receives the king-bolt which secures the supporting-frame of the hopper onto the truckframe. Means is provided whereby when the hopper is tilted the same is held in the tilted position until the contents have been discharged, and to this end I provide a pivoted angular or substantially L-shaped standard 36 on the supporting-frame of the hopper, and when the car-bed or hopper is tilted the upper end of this standard drops undera bracket 37, secured to the rear end of the hopper. The circular track 10, carried by the frame, rests upon the rollers 8, carried by the truck-frame, and the bevel gears or pinions 14 mesh with the bevel-gears 15, carried by the frames of the hoppers.

By the constructed rounded ends of the hoppers it will be observed that the greater weight of the load will lie in the hoppers forward of their trunnions, and consequently when the catches for the doors are released the hoppers will automatically tilt, the contents of the hopper forcing the door open out of the way. In order to discharge the contents clear ofthe supporting-frame of the hoppers when discharging between the side rails of the truck-frame ontoithe road-bed, an inclined chute or ledge 38, and the car-hopper when it tilts engages the upper edge of this chute and is arrested thereby. As the hopper assumes the tilted position the pivoted standard 36 drops under the bracket 37 and holds the car in the tilted position until the standard 36 is pulled out from engagement with the bracket, when the car may be returned to its normal position and the door closed, which will retain said hopper in the normal position.

It is to be noted that the hoppers may be swung around to discharge the contents at the side of the track, and the supportingframes for the hoppers being set inside from the ends of the truck-frame the hoppers and their frames may be rotated without interfering with a car coupled thereto.

While I have herein shown and described the invention in detail, yet it will be observed that in practice various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the general spirit of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with the steel truckframe-carrying rollers, of a hopper-supporting frame rot-atably mounted on the truckframe, a circular track secured to the underneath face of the hopper-supporting frame for engagement with the rollers, a bevel-gear carried on the underneath face of said hopper-supporting frame, means carried by the truck-frame for engagement with said bevelgear to rot-ate the hopper-supporting frame, standards carried by said hopper-supporting frame, a hopper trunnioned in said standards, and a swinging door for closing one end of said hopper, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the truck-frame constructed of channel-beams, of hopper-supporting frames rotatably mounted on the truck-frame, means for rotating said hoppersupporting frames, hoppers trunnioned in said frames to tilt therein, a swinging door for closing one end of said hoppers, means for securing said door in the closed position, and pivoted standards carried by the hoppersupporting frames for holding the hoppers in the tilted position until the contents thereof are discharged.

3. The combination with the truck-frame, of a hoppersupporting frame rotatably mounted thereon, means for rotating said frame, a hopper trunnioned in the frame to tilt therein, a swinging door for closing one end of the hopper, means for securing the door in the closed position, a pivoted standard carried by the frame, and a bracket carried by the hopper to be engaged by the standard when the hopper is tilted, as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM ROHRBAOHER.

- Witnesses:

A. M. WILSON, E. E. POTTER. 

